1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a method for traffic determination in a routing and information system for individual motor vehicle traffic, having stationary routing station poles arranged in the vicinity of roadways, which poles transmit route information and location information concerning their positions to the passing vehicles, whereby, in the individual vehicles, in each case a trip destination is set forth and, corresponding thereto, certain routing recommendations are selected, in accordance with certain known techniques, whereby further, in each case, the trip destination data are transmitted from the vehicle to the routing station pole and are evaluated for obtaining data concerning the general traffic situation.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior technique noted above is set forth in German patent application No. 29 23 634.8 which specifies a routing and information system in which, from the individual routing station poles, the routing information for all trip destinations which could come into consideration are transmitted cyclically to all passing vehicles. The selection of the recommendations which are applicable for a specific trip destination occurs in the vehicle. This has the advantage with respect to other known systems that for a pure destination guidance, only one transmission in one direction is required, namely, from the routing station poles to the vehicles. In contrast thereto, in the case of other known systems, it is provided that first the trip destination is provided from the vehicle to the routing station pole, that then, there the associated information is selected and is transmitted to the vehicle. The information transmission thus proceeds in a dialog between the routing station poles and each individual vehicle.
Although this is not absolutely necessary in the case of the method of the German application No. P 29 23 634.8, it is there, however, also possible to transmit information concerning the selected trip destination from the individual vehicle to the routing station pole. In this case, however, this does not serve for the selection of specific routing recommendations, but rather for obtaining general data concerning momentary traffic buildup and traffic buildup to be expected at the trip destinations. Such information can either be evaluated in the routing station pole itself or in a parent routing central station and can be used for determining new routing recommendations.
For determination of traffic situation, previously detectors were used with which at significant points of the road system, the number, the direction, the velocity and, where applicable, the type of passing vehicles are determined or, respectively, the time gaps and the level of occupancy are measured. From these values, one indirectly determines the occupancy state of entire stretches of road, although these measured values only provide information concerning the traffic currents at the narrowly limited measured intersection. A traffic obstruction between two measuring points which are distant from one another, for example, is not perceived as long as the traffic in front of and behind these measuring locations remains fluid.